The City’s large water-demand swings presented extreme difficulties to its water and wastewater system operation. Without a computerized model, the operations staff was largely reactionary to high demand events. In addition, new City construction and development was being implemented which continuously altered the usage patterns within the City. This often resulted in an unknown level of service for both water and wastewater services.

A major component of the master plan was the development of a water model. Water models are typically developed based on City-wide consumption records and housing density. However, Garver’s innovative approach combined real time data from the City’s main water meters, pump stations, and water towers with monthly records from each customer’s water meters to model the City’s water usage in Bentley WaterGEMS on minimum, average, and peak demand days. Once the system was modeled, Garver calibrated the system with flow test data provided by City staff.

This project gave the City a road map to future buildout, and exceeded that effort by also highlighting existing areas of deficiency and prioritizing all projects based on several mutually-agreed upon factors. To find out what the Garver Water Team can do for you, visit our website here.

Friday, December 18, 2015

The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA), which owns and operates Nashville International Airport (BNA), recently broke ground on what will be the largest geothermal lake plate cooling system in North America. The former rock quarry located east of BNA’s Runway 2R/20L contains around 1.5 billion gallons of water, which hovers around 50 degrees Fahrenheit year-round.

This sustainability project will circulate water through submerged geothermal heat exchangers, then on to the airport terminal’s central plant, which will cool the terminal at a cost significantly less than the current cooling methods.

"This is a remarkable project for its scope, ingenuity and efficiency," said Rob Wigington, president and CEO of MNAA. "The Airport Authority is committed to making sustainability an integral part of our business model. Not because sustainability is easy—rather, it is often a complex process—but because the benefits to our airports, the region and our environment are overwhelmingly positive.”

“The effects of the coordinated efforts between the MNAA, Garver, Blakely Construction Services, Energy Systems Group, and Smith Seckman Reid will save 1.3 million kilowatt-hours, 30 million gallons of potable water, and $430,000 in utility savings each year,” said Garver Vice President Ryan Sisemore. “This is a great example of what a prudential airport authority can accomplish when it commits to addressing its complex jobs with creative solutions.”

Construction on this $10.2 million project is expected to be completed in summer 2016.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Garver believes in the value of water. And we believe in empowering communities. We believe local entrepreneurs are the key to solving the world water crisis. That's why this holiday season we're partnering with Water4, an organization that trains people in impoverished communities to drill their own water wells and install their own hand pumps.

Through GarverGives, our company will match the amount our employees and clients give through donations made at Water4.org/GarverGives. Our hope is that together, we can raise $5,000, which will provide the initial investment for equipping a trained team to start their own drilling business, bringing a sustainable solution for clean water to a community in need.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

The Texas Asphalt Pavement Association recently presented its 2015 Quality Asphalt Pavement Award for a Large Airport
to Abilene
Regional Airport's Runway 17L/35R rehabilitation project, for which Garver’s Aviation Team provided design and construction management services. The award recognizes the excellence achieved in the paving project,
including its texture quality and smooth surface.

“This award recognizes the dedication to quality that the airport was fortunate
to have from many contributors,” said the director of aviation for the city of
Abilene, Don Green. “Duininck Inc.'s management and construction crews
and its sub-contractors worked hard to give us this final result. I also
want to recognize that this project involved a broader team: the Southwest
Region of the Federal Aviation Administration; the airport's engineering firm,
Garver; our project inspection firm, Jacob and Martin; quality assurance
testing firm Enprotec, Hibbs & Todd; and Airport Staff. Everyone
worked well together.”